Protestors Angered By Quran Burning Storm Swedish Embassy Compound In Baghdad
ForbesAug 02, 2023
The Facts
On Friday, Sweden's foreign ministry announced that expatriate staff and operations at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad had been temporarily relocated to Stockholm for security reasons.
This comes a day after hundreds of Iraqis stormed the building and set it on fire in protest of Sweden's alleged consent to Quran burnings as another such demonstration was authorized outside the Iraqi embassy.
The Spin
Narrative A
The attack against the Swedish embassy in Iraq wasn't carried out by ordinary citizens but rather by oppressive Islamic regimes seeking to expand their tentacles to silence dissent abroad. Western secular governments must stand firm in protecting free speech, regardless of how contemptible the ideas and actions are.
Narrative B
It's quite hypocritical that free speech has been used as an excuse for allowing religious hatred toward Muslims while their right to free expression has been increasingly under threat. By engaging in hateful acts such as burning or tearing apart pages of the Quran, Islamophobes are purely calling for violence against Muslims — which is completely unacceptable in a fair society.
